Tag: educating young people for the workplace

5 Things Young People Need To Be Taught To Prepare Them For The Workplace

1. Responsibility – developing trust with others. Building trust with our colleagues takes time but something all of us, including young people, can do to greatly improve our workplace relationships is hold ourselves accountable for the workload we’ve been assigned, instead of trying to shift it onto others which builds tension over time.

2. Honesty – building relationships on bricks not sand. Lying to our colleagues is the fastest route to corroding relationships that are vital to our success. Honesty is the strong bedrock we build the foundations for all successful relationships on because it ensures they stand the test of time.

IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU PLAN TO FAIL.

3. Empathy & tolerance – accepting and understanding the feelings & beliefs of others. In order to create synergy with our colleagues we must respect their character traits and beliefs. When we judge others for the beliefs they hold we are encouraging conflict, when we accept we are encouraging harmony.

Your freedom stops where the freedom of others begins.

4. Rapport – building relationships that last. The way we speak, the body language we express and the manner in which we conduct ourselves are ways we send messages to our colleagues. In order to build rapport with others we must be mindful of how we carry ourselves and how this affects those around us.

5. Deferred gratification – working for results we can see yet. Everything worth having doesn’t come easy, everything that comes easy isn’t worth having – this is the mindset we must teach young people if they are to achieve their long-term goals. The core values this mindset instills in students are patience, resilience and diligence – add more.

The sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

Teaching these skills will create future generations of productive members of society who are actively contributing to the betterment of our economy.